What’s New – Page 2 – The Strap Saver

Spring Break!

March 14, 2016/in Running a Business, Shari, What's New

Photo Credit: Phil Levy

If you’ve been keeping up with the blog, you know I’ve been busy getting ready for tax season (which are done, YAY!) and with our annual Valentine’s Day sale. Beth and I have also been working hard on plans for the next few months. We have some big things coming up – we’re launching a new product, implementing website updates, and a partnership that’s going to help us with our mission to give back. We’ll even have some spring cleaning advice. Stay tuned… more details soon! So, for this week, we’re going to kick back and take a spring break of our own. The blog will be back next week. Until then, we hope you will have some March madness yourself – on a beach, with a basketball, or with a bubble bath – whatever makes you happy. Summer is almost here!

What’s New from CurveNY

February 29, 2016/in Networking, Running a Business, Shari, What's New

Last week was CurvExpo – a treat for the lingerie lover in all of us. It is a feast of color and texture from both established and new designers all with one goal – sell those designs and get them in stores. This was the second year that Beth and I attended. Last year was a little intimidating, we were the new kids on the block – not even on the block, we didn’t have a booth. We were tourists visiting a new world. The website had only been online for 3 months and we had so much to learn and it was a wonderful experience. We met so many amazing people, learned how to extend the life of our lingerie and now we were back – with even more exciting questions!

An Overview of CurveNY

The layout of the CurvExpo is like many trade shows – rows and rows of booths from every brand imaginable with their latest products displayed to catch the eye. Our biggest question was where to start! The answer – to the left! (no, not because of Beyonce – I have a need to go counter-clockwise after too many Disney visits – “they” say that’s the best way to avoid the lines.) I thought I’d share some of the things that we found for those searching for something new!

We wandered down the aisles and stopped at the first place that caught our eye – Juana de Arco! Juana de Arco (Joan of Arc) is a line of yoga, underwear and children’s clothes in bright patterns from Argentina. The fabric is hand silk screen in vibrant colors. The designs look both beautiful and comfortable. Beth fell in love with the wide leg pants and we’re hoping they become more widely available in the US. We want to feel this glamorous as we are relaxing at home!

Next, we met Megan Grassel, CEO of Yellowberry, who saw that the only bras available to young girls were too sexy and thought that there should be an alternative. Although she was still in high school, Megan set up a Kickstarter campaign and a new company was born. I had read her story a few years ago and admired her drive, especially given that she’s still a teenager. Starting a business hasn’t been easy for us and we’ve had years of industry experience.

Another stop was to talk to Louisa Loveday at Loveday London. We were attracted to the beautiful lace boudoir gown that she was wearing. (I just looked it up, it’s £1,000.00… but hey, my birthday is coming up soon!) Her style was very different “hard-core romantic” and unlike anything I’d seen before. The lace was soft and the leather was smooth. Although with inspiration from last year’s show I have definitely bought more interesting bras, I still consider myself to be conservative but if there’d been a dressing room, I would’ve tried some of this on. We chatted with Louisa for a while about owning our own businesses, finding the right fit for lingerie, how beauty and sexy belongs to everyone. It was a great conversation. I should have asked her if that was her real name! (like Amy Freeze, a meteorologist on WABC in New York)

Speaking of my new bras, the last new company that I’m going mention is Hanging Secrets. They make a hanging bra organizer similar to a hanging shoe organizer, but, obviously, for bras. I spoke with Dr. Melinda Silva about the product and how they, like us (details coming soon!) plan to donate a portion of their profits to breast cancer victims and their families. I’m lucky enough to have plenty of drawer space so I was more interested in the smaller, travel version pictured here. It’s hard to crush expensive bras when closing an overstuffed suitcase – and face it, they’re always overstuffed. (but always .5 lbs under limit!) Dr. Silva said that the smaller one is a prototype and will be coming out soon. I’ll keep an eye out for it!

We were happy to see some of our friends from last year. I had a moment to say quick hello to Ade of Nubian Skin. I’m always so impressed with their product and their message. It makes me think that we should come up with something darker than our current tan. They’ve recently expanded their hosiery line to include a wider range of sizes. We also chatted with Charlotte Davies, the designer at Curvy Kate. It’s hard not to say nice thing about her and her designs. The candy colors are always gorgeous. We also got to meet Jessica of Tutti Rouge, a brand I learned about from reading Science and Silicone. When they learned of our product, they seemed almost as excited to talk to us as we were to them!

Tutti Rouge Bras

All in all, it was a very tiring two days, but worth every minute. We got some great questions answered (Want to know why your underwear rides up? Stay tuned!) and met some wonderful people. We’ll have some great follow-up blogs on all that we learned. We look forward to keeping in touch with our new friends and to seeing everyone again in August!

Scotch's Hold Tight Strap Clip doesn't have the strength of The Strap Saver

My Reaction to the Hold Tight Strap Clip

February 14, 2016/in Running a Business, Saved Straps, Shari, The Store, What's New

Scotch's Hold Tight Strap Clip doesn't have the strength of The Strap Saver A few weeks ago I was tweaking our SEO through keyword research and came across something surprising: a potential competitor – 3M’s Hold Tight Strap Clip. When Beth and I first came up with the idea for a no-sew strap shortening solution, I spent hours, if not days, searching online for an existing answer to the problem. Obviously, I proceeded to have a minor panic attack. Once that was done, I thought of the quote from the Godfather 2 (which I haven’t seen – yeah, I know…) – Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I immediately ordered one on Amazon (I didn’t pay extra for overnight shipping, aren’t you proud?) and researched it as much as possible.

You may be wondering why I’m linking directly to the product. After all of this research, I don’t think they are a competitor. I love 3M products and Scotch. Post-its are a staple in my life – and Scotch-Brite sponges are awesome. I’m interested in trying some of the wardrobe products in the original blog that led me down this road. (I think the Permanent Hem Bonding Tape will be useful, as we’ve already established that I don’t sew!) But… my original fear that this was serious competition no longer seems valid. (for the record, if it was serious competition, I’d let you know how/why we’re better or modify our product to beat the competition)

The Hold Tight Strap Clip on one of my favorite bras The Hold Tight Strap Clip is made of semi-opaque plastic and is designed to keep the built-in adjuster from slipping. It works like a barrette and will accommodate up to a 3/4” strap. To it’s credit, it clips on very tightly. When closed, the Hold Tight Strap Clip is slightly over 1” wide which gives it a significant footprint on 1/2″ and 1/4″ straps. I didn’t feel it on the 1/2” strap of my bra, but it was easy to see under a fitted shirt. Much to my relief, I don’t think this would work well to shorten any strap. It would become too bulky and the excess fabric would put stress on the joint. I don’t know how well the plastic would hold against this added pressure.

Another interesting part is that I tried the “product locator” on their website and I couldn’t find any within 100 miles of NYC. I wonder if they are discontinuing the product. This is another reason that maybe I should’ve thought twice before I panicked. (hey, I’m not normally a drama queen but I’m pouring my heart and soul into this company, so I’m a little jumpy! Deal with it :) ) And all of the reviews on their site – which were positive – came from people who got the product for free around 8 months ago. While I can’t knock exchanging reviews for product, I was surprised that there was no spontaneous praise. I’m always so pleased when a customer takes the time to write to us. (Got more? Feel free to send it our way!) I’d have thought that there might be more for a Scotch product.

With all of the amazing products from 3M and their cool names – I must say I’m a little disappointed in “Hold Tight Strap Clips”. Granted, it took us months to come up with “The Strap Saver”, but we’re just two women with a limited (read: nonexistent) budget. The packaging is pretty cool. Wasted, since it’s not reusable, like our awesome silk bags, but it is recyclable!

I can safely put my panic attack aside. The Strap Saver remains the only non-permanent way to shorten a strap without picking up a needle and thread that we’ve found on the market. (Found one? Let us know! We’ll test it out.) The Hold Tight Strap Clip does exactly what it says. At $6 for 8 clips, it’s a great price if you only need to stop the built-in adjusters from moving and you don’t wear fitted clothes. If you’re looking for a virtually undetectable no-sew solution to shorten your straps while leaving them adjustable, The Strap Saver is the answer for you.

Have you ever stumbled across a competitor to a product you were selling? What did you do?

A Monkey in a Bra hanging from a tree, News from Strap Central

Getting that Chimp Off of My Back!

January 12, 2016/in Running a Business, Shari, What's New

One of the results of my goal-setting meeting with coach Roe DeSaro was the idea of creating a newsletter for our company. So many of you have indicated that you want to keep in touch, but I’d been remiss in my duties – so I set out to add another important piece to our portfolio – the Strap Central Digest.

Step one was choosing a provider and MailChimp had come highly recommended by many (and is free up to 2,000 subscribers!). I was told that it was very easy to use, which was good, because I was on my own for this task. Beth was very busy with other freelance work and templates frustrate her. She’s such a great designer and wants to make things look how she wants them (like this awesome site) and if she can’t… well… don’t have sharp objects nearby. (I’m kidding, she wouldn’t hurt anyone or throw things, but she might yell a little!)

It turns out that MailChimp IS easy. I wanted to set up a template – highlighting our content more than the product. (as awesome as it is, it doesn’t change as much as the content, although there is something new coming, details to follow…) I figured this would set us up for the coming months, a few templates would make it easier to send out content in the future.

I also wanted to send out some content that could be read in the email. I hate it when an email is simply a means to get me to click to a site. Your time is precious too, so here’s something to amuse you immediately and by the way, if you want more amusement, here’s three more related blogs. Hey, some bait for the site makes marketing sense. I also wanted to include some news. This month’s email will have details of next month’s sale. (ooooooooh! and that’s not even the change I was talking about!)

So, without a designer and with significant help from their templates, I designed this:

(click to see the full newsletter) (click to see the full newsletter)

The super-fun part was figuring how to make the top logo small. I don’t have Beth’s skills or tools. I did some sort of paste it into Word, size it, print it as a PDF, open it in Preview (mac!), crop it and export it as a jpg. How’s that for talent? I’m sure everyone has a 2-step answer to that, but it worked. And we ended up with a very pretty result. Even Beth was impressed. We sent it out and – everyone didn’t unsubscribe! In fact, we had a decent open rate and very few remove themselves from the list.

The plan is to send News from Strap Central out once a month as an update of all of our great content and any news. (and we won’t sell your information, as our privacy policy states, even if we would, which we won’t, we don’t know how!) And, to make it easy for you and so do you don’t miss out on anything – here’s a simple sign up form! (I’m nothing if not thorough)

Perfecting our Pitch at Made in Monmouth

November 17, 2015/in Friends, Getting Started, Holiday Shopping, Saved Straps, Shari, What's New

Photo credit: JoAnna Peck Siminerio, Manalapan Business Development Counsel

As our business gets bigger, we’re finding more and more doors are opening. Thanks to the article in the Asbury Park Press, we were invited to participate in Made in Monmouth, a showcase of local businesses. Last weekend was the mini-Made in Monmouth event, a smaller, holiday version of the larger show that takes over the athletic facility of Monmouth University every April.

This event was very important to us – it was the first time we were going to sell The Strap Saver directly to the public. We had several things that we wanted to accomplish beyond sales. We’re still working on perfecting our message. The Strap Saver can be a little complicated to explain and we haven’t nailed down our elevator pitch. We’ve also had our first request for wholesale and we need to design a display. We wanted to learn everything that we could in this 5 hour window.

Beth did a wonderful job (as always) setting up the table. (and I brought a steamer for the tablecloths, I got a little teasing from those around us for being a little particular but presentation is everything!) In general, we received positive responses to the display of The Strap Saver in action, directly on a tank top or a bra, although many people thought that we were replacing the strap. We found that once we displayed the product sans strap, it was more clear. We think that a smaller version of the hanger will become part of our in-store display, but we still need to be clear on what the product does, in as few words as possible.

Our raffle was a success. (Thank you Marc! It was a great idea!) Although the painting was adorable, we’re happy to report that the prospect of winning a gift certificate seemed to be more enticing. We even had a small survey with our raffle and 77% women said that this was a problem and they just “lived with it” – well, no more!

We realized that The Strap Saver is less of an impulse purchase than we thought. A few of the women wanted to go home and measure the straps on their troublesome bras or dresses (we’ve already had some follow-up sales). It will do better in lingerie stores vs. a craft show – where most will go with a purpose. We did raise awareness and add a few addresses to our mailing list.

As for our elevator pitch, it’s definitely improved. We found that in order to capture their interest, leading with the question of “do you have strap problems” was a great hook. Although, overall, I’m not exactly sure what question to ask – is it about slipping straps? Stretched straps? Long straps? Which one is universal? I’ll have to play around with the language and see which one resonates.

When it comes to describing the product, we learned that talking about our product in stages was the best way to go through the features and benefits without rushing to say howawesomeisourproductandofyou’llabsolutelyloveitanditssoworth$15. We settled on “It’s a no-sew solution for shortening straps while still leaving them adjustable” and then “It works on bras, bathing suits, tank tops and all of your other strappy clothes” and then “It comes in 3 colors and 4 sizes. It’s made of ceramic-coated stainless steel, so it’s made to hold up against chlorine, saltwater and will out-live many, many bras.” and finally “It’s $15 for the first pair, $10 for each additional pair, shipping is free.” That’s not the final draft and I have a few other phrases that I copied down that I want to try – like “It’s a little metal device for shortening straps while still leaving them adjustable” – do we need to say no-sew? Does metal make it sound uncomfortable? But it does lend itself to durability. Hey, we’re a work in progress.

We already have some plans for the next show – like offering a discount for purchasing at the fair and listing our price directly on the table. We’re hoping to find something equally awesome to raffle – since it seemed to really attract customers. (who doesn’t love WIN?) So if you miss this one, we look forward to seeing you at the Made in Monmouth show on April 9, 2016 at Monmouth University.

And, if you had to sum it up in 10-15 words, how would you describe The Strap Saver?

7 Degrees of Beauty Blogging at Bloomingdales

October 19, 2015/in Friends, Shari, What's New

Our new headshots, compliments of Mallika Malhotra of mikifoto.

One of the best things about being part of a beauty and fashion biz is attending cool events. Beth and I had our first taste last month when we attended the Bloomie’s Bloggers & Breakfast event sponsored by Alita’s Brand Bar. We went hoping to have a good time and meet some people, which we did. We didn’t expect to come face to face with our past. (cue the suspenseful music?)

First, the event…

We were invited to the event from a member of my writers group, Melissa Chapman, author of Married My Sugar Daddy and The Staten Island Family. Melissa and I met over a conversation about fending off online trolls. (and, from Staten island to Jersey, we’re practically neighbors.) Unfortunately we barely had a chance to speak with her at the event, so this it’s my official thank you! (You rock, Melissa!)

Bloomies Bloggers Gift Bags Beth and I met at the Short Hills Mall, not completely sure of what the day would hold, but excited nonetheless. We were looking forward to having our hair and makeup done by professionals and a fashion show. (And, of course, everybody’s favorites, gift bags!)

Beth getting made over The makeovers started right away and not ones to be shy, Beth and I hopped into the makeup chairs. I was made up in MAC and once again saw the magic of putting light make-up under my eyes. I’ve read about it often enough. (note to self: DO IT) Beth was made up by NARS and looked fabulous.

0916151036_edited-1 We were also treated to hair, organic manicures (my polish was by Trust Fund, 6 days, not a chip AND plant-based? I’m a believer!), and new headshots from Mallika Malhotra of mikifoto. (She’s really awesome and I hate posing for photos – she made it effortless.)

Then… it was time for our blasts from the past.

While we were waiting in line to get a custom design drawn on our Alita’s Brand Bar tote bags by fashion illustrator Elaine Biss. (I love mine!) we started chatting with the people around us. Part of the reason for attending the event was to network, as I’m relatively new to the blogging game (just over a year) and Beth is awesome with people (they actually like her!). We struck up a conversation with the woman behind us, Amy Selling of Lulu and Lattes. I’m not sure how it came up, but somehow we figured out that we all grew up around Philly (Amy and I within just 5 miles of each other) and that Beth and Amy had gone to the same camp for 5 years! As they started comparing notes, the conversation got a little deeper, Beth and I mentioned Syracuse (as we do). Amy quickly chimed in “I went to Syracuse!”. It turns out that we all lived in DellPlain Hall during the 1994-1995 school year, before Amy transferred, but never met. (cue twilight zone music?)

So as Beth and Amy are chattering away about the Adams (don’t ask me, apparently people they both knew from camp), Alita Friedman (of Alita’s Brand Bar) came over and said “Did someone say that they were from Philly?” and we started the game all over again. She and I went to the same junior high and would’ve gone to the same high school if my family hadn’t moved. (although a few years apart) We did a quick Klinger Junior High cheer and marveled, once again, at this tiny, tiny world. In all fairness, we were only standing about 80 miles from my hometown, which isn’t all that far, but we’d all been so many places before we landed in New Jersey, and had done so many amazing things that brought us to the event that day.

We met so many fantastic people that day, and are looking forward to more events like this (gift bag or no gift bag!) Who knows, maybe next time I’ll find my freshman roommate, Jen Kohn, I wonder whatever happened to her….

The Strap Saver celebrates everyone's independence day!

Patriotism and The Strap Saver

June 29, 2015/in Getting Started, Shari, What's New

We’re entering the swing of Red, White and Blue holidays: Memorial Day has passed, Canada Day (ok, that’s just red and white, but we love our neighbors to the north), Bastille Day, 4th of July, etc are right around the corner… and as these are firsts for The Strap Saver, I wonder about our message. When it comes to patriotism, it’s tricky to figure out where a brand belongs and where it doesn’t.

Sometimes it’s easy to figure out where we don’t belong – have you ever really looked the three words “Memorial Day Sale”? Yup. Somehow we’ve joined the words together and are missing the main part of the day – memorial. So, no, that’s not our place. Of course we’re with the families who have lost loved ones, but it’s so personal. It’s the same with brand messaging on September 11. It’s not a place or a time to remind people that your brand exists. (see White Castle and their interesting responses) We don’t want to confuse patriotism with pandering.

So clearly we’re “out” when it comes to anything like that. We hope that our customers know us to be a kind, compassionate company. We just don’t belong in those situations.

Canada Day, 4th of July and Bastille Day are better examples of positive fun (unless you were one of the people losing your head in the guillotine!). As we’re pro-pajama AND pro ninja here, we’re DEFINITELY pro fun and pro celebration! But how do we balance needing to wish you a Happy National Day if you are from Cape Verde on July 5 and recognizing the signing of Acta de la Declaración de la Independencia Argentina on July 9? (a LOT of countries fought for freedom in July. I guess the heat makes people cranky. Although it’s only in the 50s in July in Buenos Aires… so maybe not?)

I love freedom and I love a good party. National holidays can be a good time. In the US, its friends, fireworks and food, some of my favorite things. One year, we were driving down the Garden State Parkway on July 4th in a convertible at around 9pm. We were treated to the fireworks displays of about 10 towns, it was awesome. But how do we honor every country? We ship anywhere in the world and I’d hate to insult the kind folks of Kiribati by missing their special day on July 12.

I think the official decision (for now) is the celebrate the main national holidays of our customers. If we’ve shipped there in the past year, we’ll give your country a nod. It will teach us something new about the homeland of our biggest fans. We’re looking into adding the Google Translate widget to our site, so we’ll be accessible to everyone until we officially translate the site. (although, until then, likely in poorly worded text!) Maybe someday you’ll see us having a blast at Fiestas Patrias in Peru on July 28.

What do you think of brands and their response to national new events and holidays?

A Strap Saver photo shoot with Beth taking pictures in her apartment and Ashley holding up a reflector

Girls on Film!

June 3, 2015/in Friends, Getting Started, Shari, What's New

We had our first photo shoot for the Strap Saver this weekend as we prepare for our next step. It was very exciting – several of Beth’s friends came over and posed for us and my friend Ashley Card worked as an assistant and a second photographer. We had lots of great props, including a poker table and more tulle than any person would ever need. (and since I was in charge of craft services, cookies!) It’s been a very hard two days for me, watching everyone else do the work and sampling the cookies. I’m so touched by all of the effort put forth by everyone – especially Beth for orchestrating everything – you rock! – and hopefully our customers will like the updates to the site.

The plethora of colorful underwear and the sheer strength of the bodies in our models was impressive – 3 are professional dancers and another trains in MMA (trust me, you want her on your side in a street fight). They brought over piles of gorgeous lingerie and modeled it for us in a variety of poses, with the only request that we keep their faces hidden. (which is why I am not mentioning names!) Thank you so much, ladies – and thank you Ashley – you’re the best! Their dedication is admirable and their generosity is overwhelming.

Which brings me to our next step of our hard work – we’re calling all bloggers with an audience that has straps in need of saving! Until June 20th, we’re looking for you to try the boob-alterting Strap Saver and possibly win an amazing prize. We’ll be giving away $250 for the best review, as well as a possible second prize depending on the number of entries. We’ll also have a 60-day Rafflecopter giveaway of $50 + $25 of Strap Save product for your readers. Please email us at media@thestrapsaver.com with:

Name
Strap Width and requested color (see How To Measure Your Strap)
Blog URL
Monthly Hits
Twitter follower #
Facebook fan #
A quick sentence on why you’d love to try our revolutionary new brahblem solver.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Your Favorite No-Sew Bra Strap Repair Now Has Bluetooth!

April 1, 2015/in Shari, The Store, What's New

We’re proud to introduce The Strap Saver 2.0, now with Bluetooth!

We’ve added enhanced connectivity with the adoption of Bluetooth 4.2 – it’s simple to use and pairs effortlessly with all Bluetooth compatible devices while also saving your stretched-out straps.

Connect it to your smart phone! Connect it to your car! You’ll be amazed at your new level of productivity as well as the perfection of your perkiness.

The Strap Saver 2.0 has been optimized for efficiency and you’ll get hours of use from a single charge. You’ll wonder how you ever lived without it!

As for what it does once it’s connected, your guess is as good as ours. Happy April 1st from all of us at The Strap Saver.

Are You Tangled Up in The Strap Saver?

November 24, 2014/in Shari, What's New

Fear not! We’ve just launched a new page with in-depth how-to videos on how to install your Strap Savers. It will help you with the magical process of rejuvenating or adjusting your strappy clothes for either solution. If not, you can always contact us, we’re happy to help!

Here’s the video for the Single Strap Saver Solution:

Be sure to check out our commercial, too: